Page 105 of Handle Me

Lola smacked my hand. “Patience. I’m not done. I heard what you said last night, too.”

“I said a lot of things last night.”

“About wanting something of your own,” she reminded me. “Something they couldn’t dissect and judge.”

“Yeah,” I said darkly. I was pretty certain I didn’t like where this was going.

“So, we keep us a secret.” She pointed from her chest to mine.

I groaned. “Because that worked so well the first time.”

“We were not on the same page,” she reminded me. “And we were trying to fight our feelings. But what if we just let this be ours for a while—something that belongs only to us. We’ll have to face the press and our families and all of that soon enough.”

“Sounds like you are thinking pretty far into the future, boss.”

She blushed and turned away. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I tilted her face back to mine. As far as I was concerned, every version of my future included her. “I just want to make sure we do this for the right reasons.”

“And I want you to have your career. It’s not like we won’t see each other. I’m pretty sure I can convince everyone you desperately need me around to keep you in line.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“You did it to yourself,” she teased before she lifted a shoulder. “And if we get caught, we come clean. But I don’t want you on the track worrying about your brother or the media. I don’t want you skipping practice to be with me in London. I’m not going anywhere. You love racing, and I love you, so you are not giving it up, Anders. And we deserve to get to know each other on our terms, not theirs. We just have to believe it will work,” she tacked on nervously.

I stared at her for a moment as the weight of what she was saying sank in. It wasn’t a sacrifice. It was a gift. One we could give each other.

“Say something,” she begged.

“I don’t have to believe. I know. So before you offer me these terms for one year, I need to know something.”

Her throat slid, but she nodded. “Anything.”

“That I can spend the rest of my life loving you.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes. She swiped at them with annoyance, giggling. “That sounds like a pretty big commitment.”

“I’m up for it,” I vowed, knowing I meant it in my soul. “You?”

She nodded, completely lost for words. Emotion swelled inside me, and I seized her, claiming her mouth with a hard, unyielding kiss. I had never felt this way with anyone else, and I knew that I never would again. She was it. My forever. I’d gotten a win at the track today, but she was the real prize. Love had won.

Lola moaned softly as we broke apart, our lips still inches apart. Her eyes hooded with desire, her heat radiating against my body.

“I need you, Anders,” she whispered, her fingers sliding down my chest.

I groaned, my hands digging into her hips so I could pull her even closer. “Me, too. Why do you think I drove so fast today? It wasn’t a miracle. It was you.”

“You mean rule number 5?” she giggled.

My mouth cruised along her jawline. “Just you,” I told her, meaning it entirely, “but knowing you left your knickers at home definitely helped.”

“I swear I’ll never wear them when you’re racing,” she said in mock solemnity.

“That’s my girl.”

Her face lit up, and I knew then that she belonged to me as much as I belonged to her.

I leaned in and kissed her again, my hands sliding down to explore her bare ass. I cupped her cheeks and hauled her up so that she was straddling me.